When viewing a television broadcast or video-taped movie, using a remote controlled television and/or VCR system, it is most common to operate the hand-held remote control unit in lowly illuminated environments, such as for example, in a darkened room. Such viewing conditions in general, appear to provide improved video images on the TV screen, as well as give the appearance of viewing video-taped movies and the like in a movie theater.
Presently available hand-held remote control units are equipped with numerous programming and selection functions, including video-frame freezing, slow motion, auto-reverse, auto-forward, etc. As a result, it is most common for the front panels of such hand-held remote control units to bear numerous switches, often of membrane type, the number of which typically exceeds ten or more. In addition, each hand-held remote control unit contains a transmitter which usually transmits digitally encoded infra-red light signals from its front side panel to a receiver which is usually contained within the television unit and/or the VCR unit.
While such hand-held remote control units have made television and video-tape viewing much more convenient and thus enjoyable as a result of such remotely controllable programming, recording and playback functions at the user's fingertips, a serious problem nevertheless arises when trying to operate such remote control units in highly desired, lowly illuminated environments. In particular, as a result of the low illumination levels in the viewing room, a television/video viewer with a hand-held remote control unit is incapable of seeing clearly all the programming and selection function switches, that is, without getting out of his or her chair and turning the lights on. This disruption in television viewing is very disturbing and greatly detracts from the viewing experience in general.
In view of this long-felt problem, there presently exist several portable illumination devices which have been designed for attachment to books in particular to facilitate night-time reading while sitting in bed or while sitting as a passenger in a car.
Examples of such prior art illumination devices can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,700,634; 4,598,340; 4,432,042; 3,885,145; 2,235,109; 2,161,872; and 2,395,760. However, each device described in these references is wholly unsuitable for facilitating illumination of the front panel of a hand-held remote control unit, while permitting actuation and operation of the hand-held remote control unit without hindrance and/or obstruction.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an illumination device for attachment to the casing of a hand-held remote control unit, regardless of its specific dimensions, and to provide a way to illuminate the front panel thereof bearing programming and function selection switches, and therewhile to allow for the unobstructed hand-held operation of the remote control unit.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an illumination device which has an adjustable mounting means that is capable of adjustment so as to receive and securely hold one of a wide variety of hand-held remote control units having various physical dimensions.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an illumination device which operates on battery cells, provides a powerful yet diffused beam of illumination on the front panel of the remote control unit, and can be held in one's hand in a manner similar to a hand-held remote control unit itself.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide such an illumination device which is both safe and simple to use, inexpensive to manufacture, and which can be fabricated in large part from light-weight, injection-molded modern plastics.
Other and further objects of the present invention will be explained hereinafter, and will be more particularly delineated in the appended claims, and other objects of the present invention will hereinafter become apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains.